Maya St. Germain (Bianca Lawson)

Maya St. Germain first met main character Emily Fields in Season 1, when she found her going through old boxes of things looking for clues about Alison’s disappearance. They became friends, and despite the reservations her friends had about Maya, including suspected drug use, Emily wanted to start a relationship with her.

They went to the cinema on their first date and shared a kiss, though Emily was still struggling with her sexuality and was reluctant to publicly admit her growing relationship with Maya. Despite her reservations, Emily brought Maya to meet her parents, though her mother became very upset during dinner when she saw Maya and Emily playing footsie under the table. Maya left the house and Emily’s mother told her that she was not supportive of her daughter being a lesbian. In a later episode, Emily’s mother went through Maya’s bag and found her drug stash, and after telling Maya’s parents about it, they sent her away to a rehabilitation camp. Later, Emily called Maya at camp but heard a man in the background and was convinced Maya was no longer interested in her.

Season 2

When Maya returned in Season 2, she and Emily started up their relationship again and agreed to go slowly, finding it easier now that Emily’s mother had come to terms with her daughter’s sexuality. However, Emily was still struggling with the fact that Maya continued to use marijuana and they had a falling out over it. During the argument, Emily told Maya that she was concerned about the fact that Maya was bisexual. Maya assured Emily that her feelings for her were real and that she had no competition. When Maya then brought Emily to her bedroom where she had created a romantic setting, she told Emily that she loved her, they started kissing, and Emily told her that she loved her, too.

Soon after they had another argument about Maya’s drug use and the fact that Maya thought that she could never feel at home in Rosewood. She left in tears and Emily tried to call her but got no answer, and later, a dead body was found and believed to be Maya. It was revealed that she was murdered by her stalker ex-boyfriend, Lyndon.

When showrunner Marlene King was asked if she had any regrets, she responded with: “Well, I felt terrible that people were so upset about Maya’s death. It was an important part of the storytelling, though, and important for Emily’s character to have to deal with that. I don’t really regret it, but it’s unfortunate that people were personally so upset about it”. — Vulture

Appearances:

22 episodes. Main cast S1-2 Guest S3

Female love interests:

Emily (Shay Mitchell, main cast 160 episodes)

Relationship story arc with a woman: Yes

Male love interests:

Lyndon James 💀 (Sterling Sulieman, recurring 7 episodes)

Justin (off-screen)

Relationship story arc with a man: No

Filter Relationship Arc:

[1] A relationship story arc is defined as explicit, developed on screen, and lasting more than 3 episodes. It is listed as questionable or subtext if romance is only implied, mentioned instead of shown on screen, part of a dream sequence, or otherwise not explicit for the viewer.[2] Sweeps episodes air in February, May, July and November, the periods when advertising rates are set. A character is marked as "sweeps" when there is a very limited number of episodes that address their sexuality, all air during sweeps period, and the storyline is otherwise ignore/dropped.

Quotes

One company dropped its advertising for our show in one of the early seasons, because they didn’t agree with the relationship. And I was like, “No shit, our relationship is illegal!” And Marlene said, “No, it’s not yours, it’s Emily’s relationship [that’s the problem].” So I could be seen as a statutory rapist, and people are like, “I know, but love knows no bounds, as long as there is a penis and a vagina involved.”

Well, I felt terrible that people were so upset about Maya’s death. It was an important part of the storytelling, though, and important for Emily’s character to have to deal with that. I don’t really regret it, but it’s unfortunate that people were personally so upset about it.

— Vulture, Showrunner Marlene King when asked if she had any regrets.Marlene KingJanuary 12, 2016